West Indies Archives

West Indies players depart India on commercial flights

West Indies players have begun leaving India in batches on commercial flights after delays to a planned charter flight following the conclusion of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026.

Cricket West Indies confirmed the players’ departure in a press release, raising concerns about the team’s travel amid ongoing tensions in the Middle East.

The squad was left stranded following their last Super Eight fixture on March 1 against India.

Their head coach, Daren Sammy, also posted on social media regarding the situation, urging attention to the matter.

“As is customary for both men’s and women’s ICC World Cups, all travel and accommodation arrangements for participating teams are coordinated and managed by the ICC,” the statement wrote.

The charter flight, intended to transport both the West Indies and South Africa teams, was repeatedly delayed,” it added.

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The board said that after completing their matches, the squad remained in India for nine days while awaiting travel on the ICC-organized charter.

“After completing play, the West Indies squad remained in India for nine (9) days awaiting travel,” the board explained.

“However, ongoing uncertainty surrounding the ICC-organized charter, as a result of global tensions and aviation regulations, made the situation increasingly distressing,” the board said.

Cricket West Indies said it advised the ICC that waiting for charter arrangements was no longer prudent due to player safety concerns, adding that efforts were made with the ICC to secure commercial flights, with some players already departing and the rest scheduled to leave on March 10 and 11.

“Cricket West Indies appreciates the concern and interest of fans and key stakeholders in the resolution of this matter and wishes to thank all parties for their support and patience,” it concluded.

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West Indies, England, South Africa set to depart India on charter flights

MUMBAI: Several teams participating in the T20 World Cup 2026 are set to leave India over the weekend on charter flights arranged by the International Cricket Council (ICC) after being stranded due to disruptions in air travel caused by the ongoing military conflict in the Middle East.

According to a report by ESPNcricinfo, England, South Africa and West Indies were among the sides unable to depart the country following their elimination from the T20 World Cup.

England, who suffered a semi-final defeat against India on Thursday, are scheduled to leave Mumbai on Saturday evening aboard a charter flight bound for London.

Meanwhile, South Africa and the West Indies will depart from Kolkata on a separate charter flight.

Both teams are expected to travel to Johannesburg first before the West Indies squad continues onward to Antigua. While the exact departure time is yet to be finalised, both teams are expected to leave on Sunday.

South Africa and the West Indies have remained in Kolkata since their exits from the tournament.

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South Africa were knocked out after losing to New Zealand in the first semi-final on March 4, while the West Indies have been in the city since their defeat against India in their final Super Eight fixture on March 1.

West Indies head coach Daren Sammy even took to social media to highlight the delay, posting “Day 6” on his X account on Saturday, a reference to the number of days the team had been waiting to travel after their last match.

Some members of the South African contingent will have a tight turnaround after leaving India.

Team management members, along with players Keshav Maharaj, Jason Smith and George Linde, are scheduled to travel to New Zealand on Sunday for a limited-overs tour that begins on March 15.

Zimbabwe also experienced travel delays after playing their final match of the tournament on March 1, though parts of their squad were able to depart India on March 4.

The ongoing T20 World Cup, which began on February 7 across venues in India and Sri Lanka, will conclude on Sunday with the final between India and New Zealand in Ahmedabad.

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West Indies, Zimbabwe stuck in India because of travel chaos

The West Indies and Zimbabwe cricket squads and support staff at the T20 World Cup 2026 have been stranded in India, unable to leave because of airspace closures and travel chaos caused by the war in the Middle East.

Both sides exited the tournament on Sunday at the end of the Super Eights stage and had been scheduled to fly home from India via the United Arab Emirates.

But after Iran responded to an attack by the United States and Israel on Saturday by firing missiles and drones across the Gulf region, thousands of flights have been cancelled in the busy hubs of Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

“The Zimbabwe senior men’s team remains safe and well in India,” Zimbabwe Cricket said in a statement late Monday.

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“The squad was scheduled to return home via Dubai, but travel plans have been affected by the evolving situation in the Middle East, which has disrupted key transit routes.”

Cricket West Indies (CWI) said they were “working closely with the International Cricket Council (ICC), relevant governmental authorities and airline partners to secure the earliest possible safe travel arrangements for the squad and support staff”.

The ICC has its headquarters in Dubai, where the airport was damaged, and numerous explosions have occurred in recent days.

The cricket world governing body said it had activated comprehensive contingency plans to safeguard everyone associated with the T20 World Cup.

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India beat West Indies to qualify for T20 World Cup semi-final

KOLKATA: Sanju Samson starred as India sealed a five-wicket win over West Indies to set up England semi-final in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026.

The defending champions chased down the challenging target of 197 with four balls to spare.

With this, the four semi-final teams have been locked in.

South Africa will face New Zealand in the first semi-final at Kolkata on March 4 while India will play England in the second semi-final on March 5 at Wankhede.

The hosts were jolted with early blows in the power play, with two of their key batters, Abhishek Sharma and Ishan Kishan, back in the hutch. Both batters were caught after scoring 10 runs each.

After an early wobble, Samson and skipper Suryakumar Yadav held the innings together with a 58-run partnership that took the team’s total to 99 in 10.2 overs.

The stand culminated with Suryakumar’s wicket, who scored 18 from 16 with the aid of a six and a four.

Despite the wicket, Samson held one end together with Tilak Varma playing a brisk knock off 27 from 15 to put the hosts in the driving seat.

Samson was involved in a string of partnerships as he finally took his side home with a boundary on the second ball of the last over.

His unbeaten 97 from 50 included four sixes and 12 boundaries.

For West Indies, Shamar Joseph and Jason Holder scalped two wickets each.

Earlier, Jason Holder and Rovman Powell provided West Indies with a late impetus to help them post a strong total.

Put into bat first, West Indies racked up 195-4 in 20 overs on the back of a solid start from openers Shai Hope and Roston Chase.

The pair added 68 in 8.5 overs as Varun Chakravarthy managed to get one through the gate to get rid of skipper Shai Hope.

The right-hander’s 32 from 33 included a six and three fours.

Following the wicket, West Indies’ leading run scorer in the tournament, Shimron Hetmyer, came to the fore and slammed a brisk 27 from 12 balls to push the run rate. The left-hander hit two maximums and a four in his enterprising knock.

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His onslaught took the scorecard to 102 in 11.3 overs before Jasprit Bumrah removed both of the set batters — Hetmyer and Chase (40 off 25 balls) in succession to put India in a strong position.

India managed to keep West Indies quiet, resulting in Sherfane Rutherford’s (14) wicket. As a result, West Indies were reduced to 119-4 in 14.1 overs.

However, Jason Holder and Rovman Powell provided their side a much-needed late impetus with an unbeaten 76* run stand off just 35 balls.

Holder struck three towering sixes and two fours on his way to 37* from 22, whereas Powell also chipped in with a handful of 34 not out off 19 balls, hitting two sixes and three boundaries.

For India, Jasprit Bumrah took two wickets.

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T20 World Cup: India win toss against West Indies

KOLKATA: India have won the toss and decided to bowl first against West Indies in the last Super Eight fixture of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 here at the Eden Gardens on Sunday.

Playing XIs

India XI: 1 Abhishek Sharma, 2 Sanju Samson (wk), 3 Ishan Kishan, 4 Suryakumar Yadav (capt), 5 Tilak Varma, 6 Hardik Pandya, 7 Shivam Dube, 8 Axar Patel, 9 Arshdeep Singh, 10 Varun Chakravarthy, 11 Jasprit Bumrah

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West Indies XI: 1 Roston Chase, 2 Shai Hope (capt & wk), 3 Shimron Hetmyer, 4 Rovman Powell, 5 Sherfane Rutherford, 6 Jason Holder, 7 Romario Shepherd, 8 Matthew Forde, 9 Gudakesh Motie, 10 Akeal Hosein, 11 Shamar Joseph

Head to Head

Historically, India and the West Indies have played 30 T20I matches against each other, with the Men in Blue winning 19 and West Indies winning 10; one match was abandoned.

In T20 World Cup clashes, they’ve met four times, with the West Indies winning three and India once.

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Daren Sammy hopes to repeat 2016 script in India T20 World Cup clash

KOLKATA: West Indies coach Daren Sammy believes history can repeat itself as he aims to mastermind a T20 World Cup victory to end India’s hopes, just as he did when captain 10 years ago.

Sammy led his side to a T20 World Cup semi-final win against India in Mumbai in 2016 and went on to lift the trophy as they beat England in the final in Kolkata.

It is on that same Eden Gardens pitch that Sunday’s clash will play out in front of 68,000 partisan fans.

Although it is nominally a Super Eights game, it is in reality a straight shootout — the winner will move on to the semi-finals and the loser go home.

“In order to win this tournament, you have to go through India at some point,” said Sammy. “Tomorrow is that day for us.”

“History could repeat, though it’s a different venue and two different teams.”

The West Indies have not reached the semi-finals since lifting their second T20 World Cup a decade ago.

But Sammy said earlier in the tournament that he believed “something special” was going to happen with his group of players, captained by Shai Hope.

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“Because of the focus I saw in the team, the mindset, the attention to detail, the attention to their preparation, I still believe that,” said Sammy. “Let me see if my words come true tomorrow.”

West Indies skipper Hope has at his disposal a potent spin attack, seam bowlers with variety and incredible batting power. His side have already blasted 66 sixes, a record for a T20 World Cup.

India are next on the list, 63, which sets up the possibility of a high-scoring slugfest on Sunday.

“It’s a knockout,” said Sammy. “You win, you go through. You lose and then you start thinking about all the what-ifs.”

“That’s what makes an athlete, that’s what makes competition, that’s what makes a World Cup the pinnacle of your sport.”

Awaiting the winner should be a semi-final against England in Mumbai on Thursday.

The final is in Ahmedabad on Sunday, March 8.

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T20 World Cup: South Africa close in on semis after West Indies rout

AHMEDABAD: Aiden Markram led from the front with a captain’s knock as South Africa thrashed West Indies by nine wickets to move closer to a semi-final berth in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Super Eights on Thursday.

South Africa made lightwork of a stiff 177 target, chasing in 16.1 overs with ease, losing only one wicket in the process.

After the first innings, the momentum was on West Indies side, who remarkably recovered from a precarious position.

However, Quinton de Kock and Aiden Markram came out all guns blazing, racing to 69 at the end of the powerplay.

The duo made West Indies bowling attack clueless with their aggressive stroke play, particularly Markram who remained the core aggressor.

West Indies finally got a breakthrough in the form of De Kock, who made 47 from 24 balls with the aid of four sixes and four boundaries.

At this point, South Africa were well ahead in the game, with 95 for 1 in 8 overs.

Despite the wicket, Markram continued on, stitching an 82-run partnership with Ryan Rickelton.

The pair made the chase look easy and reached the target on the first ball of the 16th over.

Markram’s unbeaten 82 off 46 was laced with four sixes and seven boundaries. Rickelton also supported him well, managing 45 off 28, including two sixes and four boundaries.

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For West Indies, there was nothing much in the bowling chart, except a solitary wicket for Roston Chase.

Earlier, A record eighth-wicket partnership by Romario Shepherd and Jason Holder enabled the West Indies to overcome an early collapse and post 176-8 against South Africa.

The pair came together with their team in deep trouble at 83-7 and put on 89, the highest eighth-wicket stand in the history of T20 internationals.

Shepherd was unbeaten on 52 off 37 balls with four sixes. Holder was run out off the penultimate ball of the innings for 49 off 31 balls with three maximums.

Both teams came into the match with a perfect five wins in the T20 World Cup so far.

South Africa have played four of their five matches in Ahmedabad and captain Aiden Markram had no hesitation in opting to bowl when he won the toss.

The West Indies took 17 off the first over, bowled by left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj.

Kagiso Rabada’s introduction halted their charge as captain Shai Hope (16) edged his second ball to keeper Quinton de Kock.

Shimron Hetmyer was dropped at mid-on by Corbin Bosch off the next delivery, but lasted only two more when he miscued to midwicket, where Maharaj snapped up the catch.

Lungi Ngidi got in the act in his first over when Brandon King, on 21, edged to De Kock, and two balls later, Roston Chase chopped on.

From 29-0 after two overs, the West Indies slumped to 43-4 after four.

Ngidi took 3-30 from his four overs, Rabada 2-2, and Bosch 2-31.

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Unbeaten West Indies cruise past Italy to seal perfect group-stage run

KOLKATA: West Indies extended their dominant run in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 with a commanding 42-run victory over Italy in their final group-stage fixture at Eden Gardens on Thursday, finishing the round unbeaten.

Defending 166, the Caribbean bowling unit delivered a clinical performance to dismiss Italy for 123 in 18 overs.

Despite brief resistance, Italy never truly threatened the target. Ben Manenti top-scored with 26 off 21 balls, while JJ Smuts struck 24 and Anthony Mosca added a quick 19, but the chase lacked momentum against disciplined bowling.

Fast bowler Shamar Joseph led the charge with an impressive four-wicket haul, finishing with 4-30 in his four overs.

Matthew Forde supported brilliantly with three wickets, while Gudakesh Motie and Akeal Hosein chipped in with two and one, respectively, to complete a dominant bowling display.

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Earlier, the West Indies endured a shaky start after being put in to bat. Opener Brandon King fell early, followed soon by Shimron Hetmyer, leaving the side struggling at 31-2 inside the powerplay.

Captain Shai Hope then anchored the innings alongside Roston Chase, with the duo stitching a crucial 64-run stand to stabilise the innings. Chase contributed 24 before departing in the 13th over with the score at 95-3.

Hope, however, continued to dictate the tempo, producing a composed half-century that formed the backbone of the West Indies’ total. He struck 75 off 46 deliveries, hitting six fours and four sixes, before falling in the later stages.

Sherfane Rutherford provided the late push with an unbeaten 24, while Matthew Forde added a quick 16 to lift West Indies to a competitive 165.

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West Indies cruise past Nepal to seal Super Eight spot in T20 World Cup 2026

MUMBAI: West Indies delivered a commanding performance to defeat Nepal by nine wickets and secure qualification for the Super Eight stage of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 at the Wankhede Stadium on Sunday.

Chasing a modest 136, the Caribbean side made the target look routine, reaching 136-1 in just 15.2 overs with a composed and clinical batting display led by captain Shai Hope and Shimron Hetmyer.

The run chase began positively as Brandon King and Hope stitched a steady 43-run opening stand.

King scored a brisk 22 off 17 balls, striking four boundaries before falling, but his dismissal did little to slow the momentum.

Hetmyer then joined Hope, and the duo ensured there were no further hiccups, building an unbeaten partnership to guide their side home comfortably.

Hope anchored the innings with an unbeaten 61 off 44 deliveries, registering his 10th T20I half-century with five fours and three sixes, while Hetmyer provided strong support with a fluent 46 not out from 32 balls, hitting four boundaries and two sixes.

Earlier, West Indies’ bowlers set up the victory by restricting Nepal to 133-8 in their 20 overs.

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All-rounder Jason Holder was the standout performer, claiming 4/27 in his four overs, while Roston Chase, Shamar Joseph, Matthew Forde and Akeal Hosein chipped in with one wicket apiece.

Nepal’s innings never found sustained momentum after early setbacks.

Kushal Bhurtel fell for just one in the opening over, while captain Rohit Paudel and wicketkeeper Aasif Sheikh departed cheaply, leaving the side reeling at 17-3.

Holder and Joseph continued to apply pressure through the middle overs, further denting Nepal’s progress.

A late resistance came through Dipendra Singh Airee and Sompal Kami, who added a valuable 54-run partnership to push Nepal past the 100-run mark.

Airee scored a fighting 58 off 47 balls, including three fours and three sixes, while Kami remained unbeaten on 26 from 15 deliveries with four boundaries.

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Motie spins West Indies to victory over England at T20 World Cup

Left-arm spinner Gudakesh Motie tore the heart out of England’s much-vaunted middle order Wednesday as the West Indies won by 30 runs in their T20 World Cup clash in Mumbai.

The West Indies scored 196-6 largely thanks to Sherfane Rutherford’s brutal, unbeaten 76 and some late hitting from Jason Holder.

In reply England were all out for 166 in 19 overs.

They made a brisk start to the chase before Motie, who varies between left-arm orthodox and wrist spin, bamboozled Tom Banton, Jacob Bethel,l and captain Harry Brook in a brilliant spell of 3-33.

It pegged back England from a comfortable 85-2 in the eighth over to 131-5 in the 14th when Brook departed for 17.

Sam Curran kept them in the hunt with a brave unbeaten 43 off 30 balls before he ran out of partners.

It was the second win from two for the West Indies and puts them in pole position to qualify for the Super Eights from Group C.

England got off to the perfect start in their chase when opener Phil Salt carted Jason Holder’s first over for 24 with two sixes and three fours as they raced to 31-0 off 12 balls.

Salt fell for 30 in the fourth over, looping a catch to Rutherford when attempting another big hit, this time off Romario Shepherd.

England sped to 67-1 at the end of the six-over power play, with Jos Buttler on 15 and Bethell 20.

Buttler hit a six off Roston Chase but perished trying to repeat the damage, caught in the deep by Rovman Powell for 21.

Banton (2) was out cheaply for the second successive match, and when Bethell (33) followed soon after, both to Motie, England were in bother at 90-4.

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Motie then captured the prize wicket of Brook, caught and bowled for 17, in his final over to leave England 131-5 off 14, and the damage had been done.

For the West Indies, sixth-wicket pair Rutherford, who hit seven sixes and two fours, and Jason Holder (33, four sixes, one four) hammered 61 in 32 balls in the dying overs.

Jofra Archer had struck in the first over of the match when captain Shai Hope slapped him straight to Banton at cover.

It was soon 8-2 when Brandon King tried to smash Curran’s first ball but could only find Salt at deep cover.

Chase hit spinner Will Jacks for three fours and Shimron Hetmyer joined in with a colossal six as the fifth over was despatched for 19 runs.

Hetmyer, on 23, top-edged Overton to Curran at fine leg to leave the West Indies 55-3.

When Adil Rashid trapped Chase, on 34, for his 400th wicket in T20 internationals, the Caribbean side had slipped to 77-4 in the 10th over.

Powell and Rutherford put on 50 in just 26 balls as the West Indies raced to 127-4 after 14 overs.

Rashid’s reintroduction immediately bore fruit as Powell holed out to Overton at long-off.

Rutherford sailed on and brought up his fifty in 29 balls with a four and a six off Overton.

Curran, the last-gasp hero against Nepal, was pummelled for 20 off his third over, including three sixes by Holder.

Rashid was the pick of England’s bowlers, taking a superb 2-16 off his four overs.

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